That about sums up quarterback Eli Manning’s attitude when it comes to weighing the regular-season opener in Washington and tonight’s preseason finale against the Patriots. The Giants starters are not expected to see much, if any, action in the final summer tune-up.

Clearly, that’s what he prefers. One of the reasons Manning was not at all alarmed by his shoddy-looking preseason stats — 49 percent completion, no touchdowns, two interceptions in three games — is that he believes he gains an edge once the real season starts and he’s able to immerse in the game plan.

He confidently trusts his ability to dissect what the opponent is trying to do, which is why he puts in so much time during the week. Little of that takes place in the preseason and pretty much winging it is not where Manning excels.

“We put a lot of emphasis on the quarterback to make calls, make decisions and you get little tips going in,” Manning said. “[Against the Jets on Monday night] we kind of figured out some things but hey, it’s already in the second quarter, not a whole lot of watching film.”

During the season, Manning enjoys the attention to detail and he’ll be honed in on the Redskins for more than a week.

“You get an exact sign of what you’re expecting, what you’re gonna get,” he said. “I can get my hands on the receivers more. When we’re going against our defense they’re playing different techniques. All of a sudden you’re getting into the game plan, you can tell our guys exactly how they’re going to play it, what we want and so you have a little bit more expectations.”

*

One of the negative byproducts of losing WR Steve Smith and TE Kevin Boss is their replacements don’t know how to work the middle of the field, a key area for Manning.

“This is a preseason where I can’t think of us getting to the middle of the field on a play-action or anything,” Tom Coughlin said, “where we had the decision after recognizing two deep or three deep and making the proper adjustment. I can’t recall this preseason having that opportunity.”

*

The Giants and Patriots often meet in the final preseason game but don’t often meet in the regular season. They do this year, Nov. 6 at New England.

“The thing about this game is we’re going to play them again, so it’s a little different than a preseason game where you don’t plan on seeing that team again,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “I know it’s a preseason game but still, we’ve seen their best players and their plays and all that in preseason against the Jets and Chicago and Carolina and so forth. There’s certainly a lot we can take from that. I think that will help us the next time we play them.”